backs to the wall

A form of back to the wall — A very difficult situation with no beneficial options available for action.

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Meanings

nounbacks to the wall pl (plural only)
  1. alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative form of back to the wall.

    Chelsea had set out like a team that was reluctant to blur the lines between adventure and leaving themselves open to the counterattack and, by the end, it was a full-on backs-to-the-walls operation.

    2015 January 31, Daniel Taylor, “David Silva seizes point for Manchester City as Chelsea are checked”, in The Guardian (London)
Cite this entry
APA

backs to the wall. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backs%20to%20the%20wall

MLA

“backs to the wall.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backs%20to%20the%20wall. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backs to the wall,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backs%20to%20the%20wall.

Source: backs to the wall on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.